Central regions | Technology & innovation

Russia falls two spots in Global Innovation Index

16 Jun '17

Russia fell two spots to #45 out of 127 countries in the latest issue of the Global Innovation Index, the US-Russia Business Council reported, citing Cornell University (US), INSEAD (a French business school) and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization as the authors of the ranking.

Russia scored well in several categories, such as Human Capital and Research (#23 out of 127) and improved its ranking in Business Sophistication from #37 in 2016 to #33. Russia also ranked highly in Ease of Starting a Business (#23), Tertiary Enrollment (#17), Graduates in Science and Engineering (#13), and Domestic Market Scale (#6).

However, Russia fell five spots to #45 in Knowledge and Technology Outputs, including a drop from #82 to #111 in the Knowledge Impact subcategory. Russia also performed poorly in the Political Stability (#112), Regulatory Quality (#102), Rule of Law (#104), and FDI Inflows (#95) subcategories.

The ranking found Russia’s political and regulatory environments to be two of the chief weaknesses in moving toward a more innovative economy, while the tertiary education system and applied research were highlighted as strengths.

Switzerland topped the rankings, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom. China ranked the highest of the BRICS countries at #22, with South Africa at #57, India at #60, and Brazil at #69.

Russia’s ranking fell this year after three straight years of gains, with the country rising from #62 in 2013 to #43 in 2016.